


ᴡʜɪᴛᴇ ʀᴏꜱᴇ

by MidnightMiracle



Category: Adventure - Fandom, Anime and Manga, Fantasy - Fandom, Fiction - Fandom
Genre: Dark, F/M, Fantasy, Horror, King - Freeform, Love, Manga & Anime, Manipulation, OC x Reader - Freeform, Obsessive Behavior, Queen - Freeform, Reader Insert, Yandere, Yandere x Reader, possessive, x Reader, yandere king x reader - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:54:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27668489
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightMiracle/pseuds/MidnightMiracle
Summary: [Yandere King • F. Reader] In a world where magic came as naturally as breathing, a young girl finds herself trapped in a within the hands the obsessive king, who vows never to let her go, no matter how much she runs away. Will she ever escape the never ending game or is she bound to fall deep into ecstasy?
Relationships: Reader x king, Yandere King x Reader, king x reader
Kudos: 13





	1. one- prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Her  
> /həː/  
> pronoun 
> 
> Beautiful is her smile, broken is her heart.  
> Elegant is her style, precious are her tears.  
> Silver is her tongue, gentle are her hands.  
> Charming is her face, sadistic is her anger.

The kingdom of Ivaexoniel was quite the beauty, everyone from the neighbouring countries had to admit that. It was a kingdom located in the far north, surrounded by the pulchritudinous Clarendare Mountains around the north and the Gulf of Clarewickdon around the south.

The kingdom was rich and successful, and poverty was not a term written in the history of this place. Every person, no matter the social class, was given equal opportunities to make a change, or be something. The people were happy, the sun always smiled down upon this place, and it felt as though nothing would ever go wrong.

Now, towards the east of this kingdom, in the ancient library of a small mansion surrounded by greenery, sat an 18 year old girl, running her gentle eyes over the the old textbook she was reading once again, to let everything sink in.

'The reason this kingdom is such a mighty and prosperous is the king that ruled it. In other words, His Highness King Leonel J.C. De Revaile. He had lead the land to victory during the Battle of Xavius and had claimed justice for what had happened to the land in 56th year of Sagittarius. The battle commenced on 21st of Greenwren/56th year of Capricorn and ended on the 28th of Lizonus/56th year of Taurus, by far, he is the mightiest and most successful monarch in the history of the kingdom, and His Highness rules up to today, working hard throughout his days to maintain the tranquility of Ivaxoniel...'

[F.n] ran her eyes over the paragraph in her history textbook once again, before sighing deeply ad rubbing her forehead with her thumb and two fingers. History was a subject she was never particularly interested in, but, being the only daughter of a noble family bought these things upon her. She never understood why she had to work so hard, the [L.n] Gentry was not as prominent as any other, in fact, they were as unnoticed and unpopular among the nobility as you can get. Then, why did she have to deal with this much pressure? Illogical...

Giving out another exhale, she craned her head towards the old grandfather clock that sat at the same place as it had since this mansion was built by her ancestors, showing the time 2:45 p.m. 

[F.n] looked back at the huge stacks of books in front of her. She was on a tight scheme and had to attend dancing classes, which started 5:00 p.m. She did still had time, but she had other matters to attend to before that. Following her schedule as always, she proceeded to close her books and stood up after leaving a note to the maids as to not touch the books. History could wait an hour or two.

She folded her hands in front of her, before stepping out of the library, coming face to face with one of the many large rectangle windows that adorned the walls of the long hallway. Out the windows, she sawa crystal blue sky, white soft and white puffs floating around here and there. Among the usual birds, caladruses and phoenixes joviantly flew together in what appeared to perfect harmony. They were... so free and... beautiful...

Unlike her, who was always trapped within a cage of her own family name. 

Scoffing lightly at her poetic nature, she turned away from the window, unnoticing the phoenix which turned into spectacles of ash moments after she started walking down the hallway.

She made her way to her room, where she found her maid and closest friend since childhood, Lilian, cleaning.

"Good afternoon, My Lady," she said as soon as [F.n] stepped into the room.

[F.n] gave a smile back, "I've told you to call me by my name, Lily..." she said, while making her way to her dressing table and sitting down as gracefully as violinist.

"Yes, you have, but that is one order I cannot follow, as it goes against the conduct," Lily said with a light chuckle, while extracting a [F.n]'s favourite dress from the wardrobe.

"Isn't a maid supposed to 'obey her lady's command unconditionally, no matter the consequence?' You're being a pretty terrible one right now," [F.n] said, extracting the white gloves from her dainty and gentle hands.

"Well, may I ask for My Lady's forgiveness, then?" she said, placing the dress on the king sized bed and starting to pull out the pins which held [F.n]'s hair in place, making the [long/medium/fairly short] locks of [h.c] cascade down the noble woman's back.

"Granted," [F.n] said, closing her eyes and taking in generous helpings of air as she felt her hairbrush carras her scalp and neaten her hair, via Lily.

After she had gotten ready and dressed, she and her maid left the room. [F.n] folded her hands in front of her as she walked with almost silent steps, on the cold, marble floor.

The afternoon sun caressed her smooth skin as soon as she stepped out of the mansion. She subconsciously gave a content smile, something which pretty rare among noble ladies her age. 

If only she could go back to her childhood, and do whatever she wanted...

Even if it was for one day or one hour...

That feeling of being free and the master of your own self...

It had been with her since birth, but...

...as soon as she turned 13, it disappeared in a flash and was replaced by countless studies, parties, errands and lessons.

"Your Grace?" Lilian called, causing [F.n]'s eyes to snap back from her sweet memories to reality, "We must dash, you have--"

"Dance lessons, followed by a tea party with the Viscountess of Clodenworth and then, embroidery, mathematics, english literature and horse riding until dinner time," [F.n] cut her off and Lily simply nodded, feeling very sad that a mere 18 year old girl had to so much everyday.

"Yes, Your Grace."

[F.n] gave on of her generous smiles and walked down the marble stairs to the courtyard, where her carriage awaited her.

With the help of the driver, whom she knew quite well, she stepped into the carriage, which was a gift given to her by her brother, Alexiel, when she came of age. Thinking about him always pained her, as he hadn't, personally, attended any of [F.n]'s birthdays since she turned 11.

Wonder what the Duke was up to know...

"My Lady, are you sure about this?" Lily asked, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

"Why wouldn't I be?" [F.n] said indifferently, staring out the window of the now moving carriage, slightly grateful that she was brought out of her thoughts.

"But, My Lady, your... stepmother doesn't treat you quite well..." Lily stammered, knowing that she was putting her life on the line by saying this.

"Of course, she doesn't," [F.n] said, still nonchalant, finding the blurs of shops outside very fascinating, "But, that doesn't change the fact that she's my step-mother and that we're family."

Lilian was shocked beyond belief at how her mistress reacted, she expected her to blow up and throw her out of the carriage for even mentioning that woman. However, she was as calm as a leaf on a breezy day, smiling gently at whatever was outside.

Of course, Lady [F.n] of the [L.n] gentry was always like this, why was Lilian expecting her to be angry? She never was angry at anyone, never. Not even when Lady Romanoff 'accidentally' spilled a cup of Imperial Gold tea on her dress.

She was... too patient, even for her own good.

"Your Grace, we're here," said the footman and [F.n] sighed, dreading what was to come. Even so, she stepped out of the carriage, her maid following pursuit.

Looking up, she saw the words written clear as crystal, 

SILVERSUN CASINO.

As much she hated these sort of places, entering this one was a must right now.

She stepped into the thoroughly shining halls of the casino. Every spectacle of dust within the place had "RICH" labelled onto it, the place was the bioluminescent fish in the dark, all the gamblers could see where the bright lights and none of the sharp, sharp teeth. 

Within the four walls, in which she stood right now, were all the signs of brains hooked on the neuro-chemicals of hope, the kind that are supposed to light up for your loved ones, for a good harvest or for a hunter's chance bring home a deer. Here they were hijacked to allow the rich to pick the pockets of the desperate, to reach deep enough in to pull out their home, their savings and plunge them far, far into the fiery hell of debt.

_"Mother?_

_"When will you come?"_

_"I'm scared..."_

_"There are scary people here..."_

_"I wanna go home..."_

_"Please, save me..."_

_"I want to go back to Lord Father..."_

_"I wish to go back to Lord Brother..."_

_"I don't want to stay here..."_

_"MOTHER!!!!"_

"My Lady!" Lilian said in alarm, grabbing onto [F.n]'s arm to prevent her from losing balance. This place brought back memories that mustn't be told out loud... at least for now...

"I'm fine, Lilian," [F.n] said, tugging her arm away and regaining her composure, "Let's make haste."

As she walked the halls, she didn't fail to attract the attention of various people. Many eyes turned to her as she passed by, whispers following in pursuit.

"Woah, who's she?"

"Such a graceful presence..."

"She must be a noble!"

"How beautiful!"

"Look at her steps, so elegant!"

"Hmph, so what? Look at how she walks, so arrogant!"

"Yeah, all nobles are like that..."

"Now that you mention it, she is walking like she owns the place."

"What a witch!"

Lilian frowned deeply at the words, she was just about go to punch those girls' gossiping mouths, when she felt a hand on her wrist. Looking back, she saw [F.n] looking at her with a forbidding look.

"Your Grace, they're speaking ill of you!!"

"Let them, it doesn't matter," [F.n] remarked and continued walking, turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to the nasty glares and the hateful words, which were being thrown at her as stones.

She continued to walk down the seemingly never ending halls, until she stopped at a door. It was no simple ordinary door, it was made of pure gold, Lilian's eyes almost popped out of their sockets at how grand it was.

"This... is where we're supposed to be?" she asked, her voice dipped 34 times in disbelief and surprise.

"Seems so," [F.n] said, rather unfazed by everything.

Lilian hesitated for the smallest of seconds before opening the door, she turned back to the [h.c] haired noble and spoke "My Lady, why must you do this? That woman isn't worthy to be of any relation to you! Don't you see how she's treated you the past years? Have you forgotten all that?!" 

"Lily, I haven't. Trust me, I haven't. But, what must be done, must be done," [F.n] replied, "Now, open the door."

Lilian sighed, knowing that there was no use in trying to convince her otherwise, so she pushed the magnificent doors open.

What was revealed was another hallway, a hallway which was much narrower than the one which she had just walked through. What stood out the most was the fact that it was adorned in the brightest crimson. A blood red was all one could see in the four directions. 

No later had she taken the sight in, they were greeted by a handsome looking man in a butler's suit, who appeared to be rather wary of her, "May I help you, My Lady?"

Choosing not to inquire about who he was and where he had come from "I'm [F.n] [L.n], I was summoned here." came out of her mouth in the most polite tone.

The man's eyes widened in realisation, "Ah, yes. Please wait here a moment."

The servant turned around and walked down the hallway, disappearing from the line of their sight minutes later. When he finally returned, the wariness on his face, [F.n] noticed, had turned into smugness.

"Right this way, Your Grace," he said, saying the last two words as though they were two bitter gourds stuck in his mouth.

[F.n], however, didn't notice, or rather, pretended not to notice the person's rude behaviour and obediently followed him into the depth of the sanguine hallway.

He led them to another door, which was less fancier and smaller than the one they had come through earlier. He opened it, and what was despicably rude, was that he didn't even bother to leave the door open for them and entered, the door slamming in their faces.

"OH, THIS PHOTOGENIC A---!!!!" Lily almost shouted, had not slammed her hands to her mouth realisation that [F.n]'s reputation was at stake. It was, but the person who should be the most concerned about isn't even BATTING AN EYE!!!

[F.n] did have a calm and composed face, and she wasn't even bothering to think about how long this servant had kept them waiting, rather, she was concerned about why they were here.

After another 10 minutes of waiting, the door finally opened, which was good news to Lilian, as her feet were beginning to cramp up. The one they saw was the same rude servant, with an even more smug look.

"Follow me, [L.n]." 

This person was getting ruder by the second. HOW DARE HE CALL LADY [F.N] [L.N] BY HER LAST NAME? HOW DARE LEAVE THEM IN THE CORRIDOR FOR 1/4THS OF AN HOUR? DID HE HAVE NO SENSE OF RESPECT AT ALL?!?!?!?!

Lilian was going to explode, she would have if [F.n] wasn't there to stop her.

She quietly followed the man into the room, which was even more ruby coloured than the hallway which they had left behind. This time, they found themselves in an office, which, as a relief, was not red in colour.

The relief faded away moments later from Lilian's head after she saw what she saw. There was a single desk in the room, made out of what appeared to be the best sort of walnut wood, and beside the desk, stood two guards with the royal emblem on the breast pockets of the uniform, which they were wearing with extreme pride. They were holding a woman, a pretty woman with strawberry blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.

Her stepmother.

Lady Isadora [L.n].

The woman didn't even bat an eyes towards [F.n]. She was too busy shaking in fear and looking deathly pale. 

The servant, who had lead them here, purposely knocked his shoulder against [F.n]'s as he passed by them and towards the desk. Again, [F.n] paid no mind while Lilian was looking like a raging bull, who had just seen red.

"Your Majesty, the woman has arrived," the servant spoke to the desk, or rather, to the person who was sitting in a turn around chair that showed its back to them.

The chair whirled around slowly and Lilian almost gasped.

He had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks. I guess he must get used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile. Of course, the blush that accompanied it was a dead give-away. It didn't help that he was so modest with it, it made the girls fall for him all the more. He had tousled black hair, which was thick and lustrous. His face was strong and defined, his features molded from granite. He had dark eyebrows, which sloped downwards in a serious expression. 

All in all, this man was breathtaking.

Lilian was trying not to swoon all over him, while [F.n]'s expression didn't even falter. The same emotionless, yet modest and polite expression still adorned the smooth skin of her face, with, of course, the bright and tender smile.

"[F.n] [L.n] greets Your Highness and wishes thee a long and prosperous life," [F.n] said, curtsying respectfully.

The man simply nodded, showing no interest in [F.n]'s greeting or anything, much rather looking at her, he simply skimmed his eyes over the paper he was holding and spoke without wasting a second.

"[F.n] [L.n], your mother, Isadora [L.n] has gambled to earn a debt of 140,000,089 gold coins and claims that she has no money to repay it. She also says that you can pay the debt off for her. On the condition you pay the money, we will let her and you go." The servant spoke very formally.

[F.n]'s heart clenched in her chest, knowing that there was absolutely no way she could repay all that money within the day. For the first time in her life, she had no way out of this problem.

"I give you my sincerest apologies, I cannot repay the debt as I do not have enough money at the moment." was what was given back.

"Then," the servant continued, "As the law, one of you both or another family member must work for the person towards whom the debt is owed until the sum of money can be returned."

[F.n] was well aware of their bylaws, her great-grandfather had written a couple of them himself.

"I accept the terms, as for who will be working, that will be me."

The room was engulfed in a painful silence for a couple minutes. The man sitting in the chair frowned and finally looked up.

For one brief moment, [e.c] and blue eyes clashed into each other, before the lady hung her head. Now she knew, his eyes were a mesmerising deep ocean blue, flecks of silvery light performed ballets throughout.

They were, honestly, beautiful.

The man in the chair, or rather, King Leonel, stared at her with an expression, which was a mix of shock, interest, confusion and curiosity.

"Very well," the King himself spoke in a slightly intimidating, yet deep voice, "Lady [F.n] shall be a maid at **my** palace until the debt Isadora [L.n] owes **me** is repaid."

That one sentence began all your troubles and pain.


	2. two- the secret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> secret
> 
> /ˈsiːkrɪt/
> 
> Quiet as night and as loud as angry lion.  
> True as the heart and as loyal as badger.  
> Proud as the morning sun and humble as the blue moon.  
> The secret that became the sword and shield.  
> The secret that shines in her heart.

"My Lady, must you leave?"

"It is my duty as a daughter to help my mother out, Lily," you said for the umpteenth time, stacking the remainder of her rather simple clothes into the suitcase.   
"How can you even call that woman your mother?! My Lady, I don--"

"Lily, it's way past your curfew, don't you think? Hurry along and get to bed. I'll finish the rest of the packing on my own."

On hearing your stern voice, Lily couldn't help but follow your orders and obediently exit the room, and shut the door behind her, leaving the room in complete silence until 

"Who said I was actually going there to help her out?" you said haughtily, praising yourself for being so convincing that even your personal maid, who had been with you for 14 years, was convinced in a jiffy.

As a noble, or rather, as a woman, if life had taught you anything, it was this: the world was cruel and surprisingly, very foolish. Cruel is something we all know the world is, but why foolish? Simple, because all you had to do was pull up a graceful and charming smile, and the world was at your disposal. As quick as that. However, you had no interest in using the world, it would be too cruel, and that was something you'd rather not be.

Rather, you'd fancy being a peasant. As aforementioned, you had many responsibilities as a noble, in fact, too many. For someone who was from the least famous and least respected gentry of the entire kingdom, you had a lot to do. It gave you tremendous amounts of headaches, sure. However, it also helped you fulfill a... well, commitment, of sorts, that you had made to yourself.

All the same, it wasn't fair that you had to do the most work out of the all the siblings you had. 'Most work' did not include all the... well... personal work you had to take care of. 

Sighing, you turned to your wardrobe, looking rather forlornly at all the simple and multi-coloured dresses hanging one after the other. Giving them a look a tomboy would give to a frilly ball gown, you walked towards the said wardrobe and pushed all the dresses aside, few to right and few to the left. Revealing, what you'd call a real outfit.

Charlise sighed most dramatically. She really was looking like a stuck up girl waiting for her date to arrive, at least, that's what she looked like to Xavier.

"Where on EARTH is she?! She was supposed to be here around 25 minutes ago!!" she groaned annoyedly, slapping her forehead for the 13th time.

The 3 people were standing on the roof of an unoccupied apartment, waiting for their late partner to arrive. The night was crisp and calm, serene and peaceful, every part of it was relaxing, Except the bit where Charlise groaned and complained. Keeping her waiting is like booking a one way ticket to hell, and yet, for some reason, she always did it. She always arrived late. 

"Calm down, Charlise! Unlike us, she's a noble, it's not easy to get out of a huge mansion at night!" Xavier tried to reason with her, but failed miserably when she came up with another argument.

"What 'noble'?!" Charlise mocked, saying the last word in an even more jeering voice, "Honestly, Xavier, she's from the least prominent gentry in the entire Ivaexoniel! It's not like she has knights or dragons guarding her! It's not like she has 23 ladies-in-waiting like the candidates to be the King's wife! She should--!!"

"She's near."

Ayron (Pronounced Aaron), who was the quietest one from the quintet, talked. It was really moment in history, bearing in mind the fact that he had last spoke 6 or 7 months ago.

The girl with striking emerald eyes didn't bother to react to his speaking, instead, she rolled her eyes placed one hand on her hip sassily, and she was just about to throw in another snarky comment, when they heard the thundering of footsteps.

Whirling around, all of them looked with either uninterested, interested or angry eyes towards the figure that ran towards them. 

A long, ink black cape flew like a proud flag behind the figure along with the two ribbons faltering and rising with each gust of the comfortable night air. The hat on the person's head, however, stayed calmly on their head, occasionally moving an inch but never flying away. The mask concealed the stranger's face, but the proud smile and bright eyes could never ever be mistaken to belong to someone else in the entire universe.

"Fin-fricking-ally!!" Charlise said, tossing her hair behind her back.

The figure jumped from the roof beside them to the roof they were on, landing with unbelievable grace and calmness.

"What's kept you?" Xavier asked as the stranger pulled their hat off and shook to reveal hair as soft as satin as it glistened brightly under the light of the pale moon.

"Sorry," the person said, voice indicating that it was a 'she', "Couldn't get my maid to leave me alone, poor dear's always concerned for me,"

"Oh, so you were doing your little princess-y stuff, while we stood here, waiting for you to show your dainty little face up!" Charlise said indignantly, scowling deeply at the woman before her verdant eyes.

"Even if getting away is hard, you should always try to do so quickly...

[F.n]."

And so it was, the only daughter of the [L.n] gentry, not wearing a gown or a dress, rather, an adventurer's outfit under the black cloak, which was quite unlike you, if I do say so myself.

You smiled wryly at the white haired, disinterested and quiet boy, even though you wanted to kick his lazy face, "I try my best, Ayron, but there were some interesting occurrences today," came out of your mouth in the same graceful manner.

Charlise, your best friend, just rolled her eyes, "WHATEVER!! SINCE HER HIGHNESS WAS SO LATE, WE'RE BOUND FOR AN EARFUL FROM CAPTAIN, AND NOW, IF WE DON'T MOVE OUR FEET, WE'RE GOING TO GET A NICE ONE FROM THE SUPREME COMMANDER!!"

Charlise had been like that ever since you had met, though you didn't know why she acted so hostile towards you when you had barely done anything that involved her. Then, there was Xavier, he was the basic mother of you all, he kept Charlise's anger in check and made sure that you got all notices from the Order. He was the complete opposite of his younger 3rd cousin, Ayron, who wouldn't even be here if he wasn't dragged forcefully by Xavier. 

You looked around, trying to find the leader of your section, but failed as he wasn't there, "Where's the Captain?"

"He headed out early, since he had to give in the reports coming from the South," Xavier replied, pulling out his pocket watch and checking the time, "Charlise is right, we better head out. The meeting's about to commence."

"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" you asked, eyes glinting beneath the black mask you wore.

"We were waiting for you, sweetheart," Charlise replied to your rhetorical question snarkily as you made your way to the edge of the roof you were all standing on.

"If the wait is over, then, shall we?"

Your grinned to yourself, before signalling them all "GO!!!"

And you all took off, jumping from one roof to another with relative ease and surprising silence. The air that crashed against your face felt like a breath of freedom, a luxury you only had during night. Everyday went the same with your studies and parties, but the night was something you looked forward to the most. Even if the errands you ran were never for more than 3 hours, that was enough for you. In those three hours, you didn't have to be the perfect lady, you didn't have to be a noble, you didn't have to be a part of the [L.n] family, you could be just you, [F.n]. 

It was amazing how you could manage to lead a double life so easily, but you definitely weren't complaining. Getting to fighting evil, running on roofs, protecting what was meant to be protected, doing what you wanted (not something your father, whom you hadn't seen in years, wanted you to do), it was a dream come true.

Night was the only time you smiled genuinely, night was the only time you could be you.

So, you treasured every minute of it.

Finally, your feet slammed to the ground and you took in the familiar old and dirty. surroundings. Seriously, even if your group had to keep a low profile, would it kill to clean the place up a bit? The noble life you had lead had rubbed off on you, that was for sure. You hated untidiness and you hated yourself for not adapting to this atmosphere even though it been years since you joined the Order of the Phantom.

The headquarters of this organisation were located in an abandoned alleyway, which smelled of things that I don't wanna write, so let's just say that they smelled horrible.

"I'm never going to get used to this..." you grumbled to yourself.

Xavier walked past you and stepped on the same square shaped rock with the force he could muster. As soon as that rock sunk into the ground completely, and the ground began to rattle. A roar echoed from the pit of the Earth's stomach, it was as loud as cry that commenced battle and as quiet as a new-born's breathing.

It shook the ground they stood on and after stopping, it revealed a small opening with led to the underground via stairs (which, in your opinion, should be cleaned and dusted, every once in a while.) You, personally, didn't have any sort of clue as to why you all could stop using tactics and resources that made you like you all were planning a rebellion against His Majesty.

It made you look like those crooks you had read in some weird novel ages ago. It couldn't be helped, you supposed. Staying out of the spotlight was something the Order needed to do for the sake of the kingdom, and if it was for the kingdom, it was all worth it.

You and the rest of the crew went underground via those stairs and walked down them, the entrance concealing as soon as all of you were in. You climbed down the stairs, staring at Xavier's back. With each step you took, the walls around those ancient stairs lit up with bright torches of fire, you didn't pay them much heed, it happened all the time you came, nothing abnormal.

The stairs soon ended, leaving you in a hallway. The hallway was nothing special, bricks wherever your eyes went. You and hallways were seriously not on good terms, especially when a certain idiot had left you in one for 15 minutes today, and your feet were already sore from yesterday's patrol.

Recalling what a difficult deal you had made today whilst entering the meeting hall was really a troublesome thing to do, especially when you're a person who tends to get lost in their thoughts and lose track of their surroundings and the person in front of you was always Charlise.

In short, you bumped into her back, causing her to go BOOM.

"HEY!! WATCH WHERE THE HECK YOU'RE GOING!!! DON'T THINK THAT YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH BUMPING INTO ME JUST BECAUSE YOU'RE OF A HIGHER STATUS!!!"

Seriously, what was her problem with you?

She continued to scold you, even when you entered the meeting room, which was like a giant and luxurious classroom. Her constant mocking was really annoying, not because her words hurt you, nothing of the sort, it was just that she wouldn't shut up, her voice had become like a fly's buzz to you, annoying.

Plus, you were unlucky enough to have your seat beside her during all meetings. As she rambled on about something, you mentally kicked yourself for not forgetting to bring the candle wax earplugs you had made to block out unnecessary noises. Those 'unnecessary noises' were mainly and mostly words that came out of Charlise's mouth.

Fortunately, the Commander appeared to be late like you all had been, so you weren't going to be set on extra paperwork or cleaning duty later on. However, it wasn't an entirely happy situation for you, since you sat beside Charlise, who hadn't yet stopped her continuous chatter and scolding.

"---AND SO, NEVER BUMP INTO ME AGAIN, YOU GOT IT?!" she screeched a halt, panting heavily from the long lecture she had given you.

You didn't have a chance to reply as the main door swung open, the dim lights of the room immediately shutting and all the noises of talking people going silent. 

A sudden shudder racked your body, and you knew exactly why. 

It was the commander. 

He hadn't personally hosted any meeting since the past couple months, and that had made you forget what an demanding presence he had. Everything about him commanded-and received-total attention. Rumours had it that he was an illegitimate child of the previous king, who was known for his ruthlessness.

You, for one, didn't believe in rumours.

Yes, he did have a commanding aura, but his heart was determined and pure.

It was loyal to the country, it was something you wanted to be.

He was your idol.

A smile exactly like the one a disciple would have once their master came made its way up your lips as you saw him climb to the "Teacher's Desk", something you called the main desk from where the person, whoever it was, spoke.

He was a couple years older than you, yet his face resembled that of an old lion. You couldn't believe that he was still in 20's, no one could, on the basis of his appearance.

He had tousled brown hair and striking hazel eyes, which seemed to shine not only in the light but in the dark as well. You had to admit, he was very handsome and talented. He wouldn't be the leader of this secret organisation and the vice-commander of the Imperial Army if he wasn't and half the girls in the entire kingdom wouldn't be drooling at the thought of him.

He slammed his hands onto the desk, looking exactly like a serious teacher who was about to warn a couple of 3rd year high school students about their entrance exam.

Then, he spoke.

You, out of everyone there, already knew what was to come and braced yourself for it.

" **We lost**."


	3. three- the castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> friend
> 
> /frɛnd/
> 
> Bonds of threads made with tears.  
> Hearts of great grief and promises.  
> Mocked and loved, they persevere.  
> Trusted and shunned, their pain goes beyond time.

You stepped into the carriage and took a seat. As soon as you did, you let out an heavy exhale. Your shoulders were literally killing you, and let's just not even talk about how much your head was hurting. You had arrived back at the family estate significantly late, and sneaking into a fairly large mansion wasn't exactly a piece of cake. At the moment, you felt like rolling over and falling asleep, and believe me when I say that the said activity would even take you a fraction of a second. Had it not been for your dignity in the servants' eyes, you would have rolled over ages ago.

"My Lady, will you come back soon?" Lilian asked from outside the carriage, her eyes moist. Upon noticing her aggrieved state, you gave a gentle smile and took her hands in your own. She had always been like this, whenever you left for somewhere, she would tear up and feel guilty for the fact that even though she was your personal maid, she was never allowed to accompany you to any trips which were very important.

"Lily, I'll be back. Soon. I'll always be back, no matter how long it takes. Wait for me." you said and the dam holding back her tears broke as she let out consequent wails of despair. You patted her head lightly, giving her one of your extra rare and charming smiles, before the she let go of your hands and tearily watched as the footman shut the carriage door, your relaxed and calm face being the very last thing she saw before the carriage started moving, and did so until it was out of sight.

~*~

The carriage rattles ever so often here and there, but you were to much drowned in your own mind to notice anything. Your hands were neatly placed one over the other on your lap as you blankly stared straight ahead of you, eyes out of focus.

You had been working so hard to find an opportunity, an opportunity to get into the palace, where the imperial family resided. You had spent almost uncountable hours sitting in your room, looking over hoards and hoards of documents, looking for the faintest string of chance, of anything, but it was to no avail. 

Unexpectedly, 'chance' came in the strangest forms. You just-so-happened to be invited to discuss about the tremendous debts your step-mother had earned. It was a bother, it was a pain, it was a nuisance to even have her be on the same plane of existence as you, but you had to go. Otherwise, your family name would be besmirched.

You were expecting the person towards whom she owed the debt to be a drunk and fat old man, and that made the fact that he was actually the famous emperor even more of a hard slap in the face. You agreed to work instead of your step-mother, but taking it as affection would be a grave mistake. In fact, if the debt owner hadn't been the King, or rather, the Emperor, as more traditional people like to put it, you would have told that whatever your step-mother did was none of your business, and neither did you have any relationship with her. 

The only reason you agreed to go there was to fulfil the mission you had been assigned, you didn't love the Emperor like the people did, but you didn't dislike him either. You were indifferent towards him, as long as he continued to rule in the way he did, peacefully. However, if he became a manacle to the Empire, then, the two of you wouldn't exactly be on the best of terms.

You needed to get to the palace and gather intelligence like you had been asked to and then, get out of there as soon as possible. Like hell you were going to stay there, especially near that creepily and weird looking king, because of whom you could see why all the females you ever knew never stopped talking about him.

His eyes...

They were the most mysterious eyes you had ever scene, a very electric blue... They seemed like the ocean waves and blue and when you made the briefest eye-contact with him, it felt like something sharp and fast ran through your body, freezing your existence... However, beauty aside, there was one thing which you noticed, or where just imagining...

He looked... lo--

Your chain of thoughts was unexpectedly broken when the carriage gave a violent jerk, catching your relaxed body off-guard and yanking you to the right, which resulted in an extremely indecent fall. You hissed in pain as your backside collided with the hard carriage floor, eyes squeezed shut tight due to the impact. Your cursed under your breath and gritted your teeth. You were already not in a good mood, courtesy to your headache and lack of sleep, and now you had fell down. This day was getting off to a brilliant start.

You yanked yourself upwards, scowling as your felt traces of the ache linger in back and lower regions, and jounced the white curtains apart, and where just about to throw the windows open and yell at the driver for his incompetence, but then you halted mid-action.

The carriage... was still. It was moving and you couldn't hear the wheels rolling under you. That could only mean one thing... 

You had arrived. 

You simmered down and coughed awkwardly, regaining your composure just in time before the carriage door opened, letting the bright light of the afternoon pour into the albeit dark carriage. You squinted your eyes ever so slightly, taking hold of the footman's hand, which he offered to you as soon as the door opened, and stepped down, clutching the skirt your dress by the other hand. 

You stepped down, and braced yourself for what was to come...

...But you could never be prepared for what fate had in store for you.

You raised your gaze upwards, breath hitching and eyes becoming as wide as the universe at what you saw.

The castle was bold on the blue beyond. The castle walls were rumoured to be the strongest thing made out of marble for miles around, yet when you looked carefully, you noticed the stones. It is built of stones of varying sizes and shapes, each one unique. Since it's building was completed merely months ago, it looked beautiful and magnificent, like something out of a fairy tale, something out a children's book. Steadfast walls were built for defence in an age that was defined by jealousy, greed and the love of power as much as honour, nobility and loyalty to the crown. Past the iron gates that trapped would-be intruders, lives of servitude were eked, safe from battle-axe and ballista alike. This castle stood to inspire awe in a realm run on deference to royalty, to title and social status. From cloistered rooms land parcels were given to lords for promised service. It was a dream come true, it was an artist's fantasy. It was like a beautiful and strong rose. 

The thing which made it so unique wasn't these mere physical characteristics, it was the fact that it was built for the Emperor. It wasn't built **by** him. The people made it for him out of their own free will, for him. For saving their motherland from the cruel dynasty that previously dominated it.

Due to it's beauty and pure white colour, it was called the White Rose.

Even you had to admit, it was as grand as they described.

You tore away from your moment of admiration and looked behind, finding your footman unloading your luggage and the footman tending to the horses, their names were... Albert and James, if you remembered correctly. Looking at them, you found yourself wondering when you'd be able to see your home and them again. It filled your heart with the slightest bit of grief, but that had to be ignored as you heard a click-clack of shoes resound through the courtyard.

You turned your head from your back to the right and went '[Ah, frick](https://i.redd.it/gd425ue3z9p21.jpg).' at what you saw. 

It was that jerk from your encounter with the king last week. Lily would have killed him for the utter rudeness he showed towards you, but you stopped her. If the circumstances were different, you would've slapped him upon hearing the tone of voice he used when he first talked to you, but you couldn't. It took a great amount your tolerance, patience and self-restraint not trash him in the next course of events.

You gave an irritable sigh and pulled up a smile on your face, bracing yourself for the conversation you were about to have. 

He approached you, red hair shining brightly under the sun, which did not compliment his expression in the slightest, "You're late."

We're off to an outstandingly amazing start.

"My deepest apologies for my tardiness," you said in your most polite tone, when you actually felt like strangling him, "I hope you haven't waited for too long?"

"No shat, I have. I've been waiting since 12:30." 

Your face darkened, but the smile didn't falter. The time, when you last checked, was 1 o'clock. He had been waiting for half an hour, what was _so_ terrible about that? And what foul language he used, for a secretary to the Emperor himself, was shocking beyond your logic. 

"We don't have more time to fool around, since you took your time. Anyways, follow me." he said in an overly disrespectful tone, which, you supposed, was something you were going to get used to in the next couple of months.

Despite your urges to roast him in the most polite manner and into next year, you kept silent and followed him out of the courtyard and into the castle. 

"There are three rules you need to follow while your staying here," he said as the both of you walked in the striking and sumptuous halls of the palace, "One, never be late. His Highness hates lateness more than anything, although, you haven't gotten off to a good start at being on time. Two, only speak when you're spoken to, if you speak without permission granted from His Majesty himself, he'll have your head before you can say 'oops.' Remember those two carefully."

"Yes, I will." you said with a very lady-like tone, your head being able to wrap around all what he said, despite your headache, your boiling infuriation towards his attitude and your indignation at what happened with the carriage earlier.

He didn't answer, neither did he mention the third rule, rather, you both just kept walking. It wasn't long until you came to areas that were being cleaned by other maids, who immediately diverted their attention from work to the two of you.

"Oh my GOSH!!!"

"It's Carsein-sama!!"

"He's so handsome!! He looks even more beautiful than yesterday!!"

"I feel blinded by his beauty!!"

"Notice me~!!!"

"But..."

"Hey, who's the girl next to him?"

"She's really ugly! Why did he bring her here?"

"Just look at that dress!! So plain and simple, she couldn't _possibly_ be a noble!!"

"What a foul wench!! How dare she walk beside Carsein-sama?!"

"Look at that crest, the crest on her chest!!"

"I know that!! It's the crest of the [L.n] nobility!!"

"Oh _**shit**_ , did I just insult a noble?"

"Nah, it doesn't matter with them! They're pretty insignificant and unnoticed!"

"Yeah, but have you heard? I heard that her step-mother is a drunk gambler in huge debt!!"

"She must be a witch, just like her!"

"Look at how _arrogantly_ she walks! Thinking she's so noble!!"

The amount of whispers that flooded into your ears as soon as you and the man, Carsein, as they called him, entered the long hallway filled with busy maids, who were either on about how handsome he was, who you were or insulting you, something which you were quite used to, by now. If the maids back at your home, except Lilian, showed you no respect, then, there was nothing to expect out of these idiots.

You just kept your head up and walked behind Carsein, tolerating the anger that built into you as soon as they got onto the topic of your family, insulting your heritage like you were lowly vermin. It was okay... it was alright.. it was fine... let them talk, you had nothing to do with that they talked about...

Then, the dam containing your anger broke as you felt something wet suddenly slap your cheek, halting your movements and Carsein's as well.

The sound was so loud, everything went silent. Moreover, it was as hard as it was loud, and an immense pain made its way into your skin moments later.

You calmly removed it from your stinging skin with your left hand and you raised a brow when you found out that it was... a cleaning cloth. It had come from the right, so you slowly craned your head in that direction, finding a maid with long and dark hair looking particularly smug. 

"Oops, sorry. I wanted to pass it to Leila, over there, but... my hand slipped...?" she said, not sounding apologetic at all, in point of fact, she sounded like an artist admiring his own 'masterpiece'. She smirked as she came to you, eyes holding great haughtiness and contempt in them.

All in a second, you realised that you were alone in this. Carsein, if he had any sense of respect or decency at all, would have fired the maid on the spot, but he was just standing there, holding his chin with one hand and smiling amusedly at the exchange. The other maids seemed to be praising her, like she had won an Imperial Award for something.

Those smirking faces, those indifferent looks, those taunting glares, those mocking voices, they all reminded you, once again, that nobody in this world was ever going to take your side and mean it.

The world... was cruel.. and it was beautiful, too... but all we know, beauty favours lies more than it adorns the truth left in this existence.

_But, by no means, were you **ever**_ _going to let yourself be treated as trash._

You smiled, smiled gorgeously, smiled elegantly. The way your lips curled upwards and your eyes lit up with brightness was enough to make them all gasp. Figures.

You neatly folded the cloth and gave it back to the maid, horror and shock replacing the smugness on her face as she met your ice.

"It's quite alright, dear," you said, voice dangerously sweet and calm, "I forgive you!"

You handed her a bow before making your way to Carsein, whose face didn't change, rather it became more and more interested, "Shall we go, my Lord?"

"You forgave her, just like that?" he asked, curiosity and disgust filling its tone to the very last note.

"I would retaliate, but, arguing with a fool only proves that there are two."


	4. four- friend and foe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the maid
> 
> /ðə,ðɪ,ðiː/ /meɪd/
> 
> an innocent smile and a longing gaze  
> heart of a warrior and chivalry of a flower in a battlefield.  
> death is the last enemy she shall defeat  
> and the white rose shall be the first sun she sees

"This is the room where you'll be staying for the foreseeable future, mind you, if anything happens to it, you'll be sleeping out in the halls or the garden," Carsein said, slamming the door open to reveal a small [room,](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/2d/75/b2/2d75b267896b9ee6195985fdd2687524.jpg) which had almost nothing in there. There was a bed beside the only window in the room, two extra quilts, a small table and chair, and a truck a little ways away from the bed, presumably for your clothes; the walls were a pure white and the ceiling and flooring were made out of wood. To some ordinary noble, this would be torture, but to you, it couldn't be better. 

"Your luggage is being brought up, as His Majesty chose to be kind to the likes of **_you_** ," he said, saying the last word like it was a bitter gourd stuck in his mouth, "Change your clothes and report to the kitchen, you will be given your tasks over there."

"Understood, Forewood-sama," you said, deliberately using his last name to address him because ~~you didn't want to feel close to him in the slightest~~ it was way to informal for you.

He completely ignored you and continued, "You better not cause any inconvenience for His Majesty, he has mercifully chose to spare and help your disgraced family and shamed self. Stay here, pay your debt, help and don't be a burden. That's all you need to do." 

You were seriously resist the urge to pull out the dagger tied to your leg and stab him. He had been unreasonably rude, discourteous and nasty. He didn't stand up for you when you were being bullied as a welcome gift to the castle, and he talked way too impolitely. Honestly, you were even surprised with yourself for putting up with his bu--

"I'm leaving, and you better remember everything I showed you during the tour today, because I am not as patient and as kind as the King to let you do whatever the hell you please and bear the repercussions later."

Taking in a sharp breath, you calmly replied, "I will do my best to live up to your expectations."

"Good." was all he said before he left and slammed the door behind him. 

You would lay down and rest, perhaps even give your pillow the punishment for Carsein's and the staff's behaviour, but, you were supposed to start working from the very first day. You took the clothes which the he had thrown into your hands earlier and closed the curtains of the window before putting them on. They were your regular maid outfits, really. A sensible black dress, smart brown shoes, a ruffled apron and the outfit topped off with a ruffled bonnet from which two long ribbon strings draped. Having your hair down would be a real pain, so you tied it into a milkmaid style before glancing at yourself in the small mirror.

Taking in a huge gulp of air, you braced yourself. This was the inception.

You stepped out of your room and shut the door tightly behind you. You looked into both directions, and followed along the left path, remembering that Carsein had told you that the kitchen was towards the left of all the maids' rooms. You had your hands neatly folded in front of you and each step was taken with the utmost grace and silence. The hallway was about a 2 minute walk long, and the kitchen was at the end of it. For the most part, you were undeniably glad that you hadn't come across any of your "fellow" maids, but, when you neared your destination, you saw a mini group of them huddled around the wall, and they were... snickering to themselves. Curiosity gripped your heart and brain, and it guided you closer to them.

"Heh... so pathetic!!"

"Can't you do anything right, you loser?"

"You're such a nuisance!!"

"Oops, my hand slipped!!"

You only needed to hear a little as to fully realise what they were doing. Turns out, the people here were horrible to everyone, and you just weren't a special case. Shaking your head and frowning irritably at their behaviour, you dished out your worries about not running into trouble and marched towards them. It appeared that they heard your footsteps, as they turned around sharply, eyes widened towards who it was. Their tense shoulders relaxed as they saw it was you, and they went right back to whatever they were doing. Seriously, did they have no respect?

"EXCUSE ME!!!" you bellowed, catching their attention and making all of them whirl around once more, and this time, with extremely annoyed faces.

" _What?_ " the 'leader' sneered, hands resting on her hips as she eyes you up and down with disgust.

"I-I... umm... wanted to... be friends... with you..." you began shyly, stuttering at certain places and making sure to pause every now and then.

"HAH? You wanna... be friends with us?" the one on the right said, surprise decorating her voice.

"Yeah!!" you began, sounding more enthusiastic and more stupid at the same time.

The one in the middle raised her brow and looked you up and down, "Why d'you wanna be friends with us?"

"B-Because... you're so cool!!"

The one in the middle, who was, apparently, the leader, couldn't help the small blush creep up on her cheeks, and you held back a smirk of victory when you saw it. Target acquired.

"H-How am I cool?" she asked trying and failing miserably to sound indifferent, and it couldn't be more obvious that she just wanted wind to be blown up her ego. You didn't know whether it was possible for her head to be bigger than it already was.

"C-Cause... you're strong!! You're putting that one over there in her place, because you know who belongs where! You are the most beautiful and powerful person I have yet to see!! Your eyes are like the most precious jewels upon a princess' head and your hair!! OH, the finest of silk and the brightest of stars could never compare!!" Saying that you were exaggerating would be an understatement.

Obviously, it worked like a charm, her nose was already as long as Pinocchio's when he lied.

"Oh, _stawp it_ ~"

"But, I am saying the unquestionable truth!! You are really the most talented and pretty women I have met!! Please, let me be your friend!!" you 'insisted'.

Your strategy was working as smooth as an ice rink, their attention was shifting from the poor victim to you, and it would be kept that way. There was no way on the planet that they would deny your request. Of course, if they said no now, they'd feel real guilty, irresponsible (which they actually were) and nobody would praise them later, considering you were the first person who had ever complimented them. 

"Well, if you wanna be our friend so badly, then, perhaps we could--"

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!" you screamed, cutting them off and actually jumping up with 'delight', "You're not only beautiful and strong, but you're undeniably generous and kind? A-Are you all... **angels??** " 

One didn't need to be a genius to figure out that they were easy to convince as it is to breath. This was child's play compared to what you had to do in the past.

"W-Well, now, I'm not an angel... but... eh---" the one on the left began,

"LEAVE THAT!! We should assemble in the kitchen, the new roaster's about to be handed out!" the goon on the right said, cutting the one on the right short, "Right, Emma?"

'Emma', who appeared to be the most satisfied one out of the your buttering, looked a little displeased but agreed that they all should get going if they didn't want extra chores and errands.

"Wanna come with us?" Emma said, looking hopeful. This was no friendly gesture, she just wanted to be more and more admired and praised.

"I couldn't possibly dare to walk with people such as yourself!! I'm a mere insignificant girl, while you are all angels sent by the heavens!! I'm not even worthy of being the air you breath, or the dirt, which has been graced with the most divine blessing, to be at your feet!! NO, NO!!! I'll just stay behind and clean this-" you gestured to the person behind them, "-mess up!! Even that is too great of an honour for a person such as myself, but, you must forgive me, for I am a greedy fortune's fool!!" 

They were practically floating with how much their arrogance had increased, and they gladly left, whispering giddily among themselves.

As soon as they left, your smile drooped off of your face in an instant along with the naive and childish aura around you. You immediately turned to the the right to to see what they had done to the unfortunate thing. You noticed that it was another maid, her uniform was as neat as a fine new pin, but her hair was haphazard and her nose was bleeding slightly. She didn't have any remarkable beauty, but you could relate to that. Thick dark brown hair and brown eyes and very pale skin. Not a beautiful pale, she rather looked like she was malnourished.

"Dear, what did those old hags do to you?" you murmured and picked the half-conscious girl up.

"Aren't you... going to hurt me?" she said, voice unbearably sad and hopeless.

"Why would I ever do that?" you asked, setting her down on the pedestal of one of the many statues in the hallway.

"You... admired... them...?" she said, extremely confused. Of course, you're acting could have rivalled reality, there was no way she wouldn't be convinced, and this is coming from me, who is a **harsh** critic.

"What do you take me to be?! I'd not caught be dead liking people like them! No, thank you!! It's just... people like them are so dense, they only need sweet honeyed words to make them fly to the moon for someone." you said, wiping the blood off of her nose by your handkerchief.

She blinked, "So... all of that... was an act?"

"Yes, of course!! **People say that actions speak louder than words, but, in cases such as these, it's words that are more efficient than actions.** "


	5. five- a test

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> king
> 
> /kɪŋ/
> 
> a blooming flower and a poet's dream,  
> heart of iron and eyes that gleam,  
> smile of an angel and skills of a hunter,  
> wit of a raven and the command of thunder.

"You... really do have your way with words, don't you?" she awed, thoroughly astonished by the fact that all you said previously was all a façade.

"I guess you could say that!!" you said, fixing her messed up hair, "I may have a natural talent for poetry!"

"Thank you," she said, sounding truly grateful, "People like are really rare around here."

You stopped, "What?"

She sighed, "I'm saying that if it were somebody other than you, they would have just walked away and let them have their way with me," she explained in a rather distressed voice.

You frowned. When you were out with Lilian a couple weeks ago, you had heard rumours among some gossiping ladies that everyone in the palace was cold and indifferent, that everyone there seemed to mind their own business and wouldn't care less if there was a murder. Looks like those rumours were indeed true, or at least, partially true.

"Really, now?" you mumbled, placing your thumb and index fingers around your chin. With the attitude of people like this, your job here would become very hard indeed, and it seems that your work just increased by million. Gah. They better pay you overtime.

"Yeah, but, you're not like that," she said and stood up from the pedestal of the statue and turned around to look at you, "You're really kind. Thank you for saving me!"

"It's no problem!!" you smiled back, finally, one person who wasn't a twat and a stuck up clotpole! "As for my payment, let's be friends!!"

Her smile dropped and her jaw almost went slack, "F-Friends? I have no problem, but... I don't think it'll be allowed--"

"Aw, come on!! Those three were clearly friends, or whatever, but they were close!" you insisted, tugging at her arm. You weren't going to throw the opportunity of having a normal person with you in this hoard of fiends away.

She bit her lip in thought, and it almost looked like she was about to reject the idea, but she didn't, "Alright! Let's be friends! I'm Francine, nice to meet you!"

You beamed. Success. "I'm [F.n]! It's great to meet you too!!" you held off on telling her your last name, because you thought that she might recognize your family, sure, you all weren't popular or influential, but you were still nobles. Being identified and blowing your cover was not something you'd wanna do. Alright, one person on your side!

"Now, shall we go? We're seriously going to be--- LATE!!! HURRY UP!!" she screamed, checking the old brown watch on her wrist before grabbing your hand and taking off towards the left.

You both arrived at the kitchen, which was much bigger than you'd expect to be, to see many maids standing in ruler straight row, hands neatly folded in front of them and heads down. They almost looked respectful, had you not known what sort of witches they actually were. The rest of the kitchen was as busy as a beehive, but it the most silent way. Chefs were cooking, kitchen maids were cleaning and some others were sorting vegetables.

You and Francine quietly joined them at the end of the of the row of maids and stood in the same posture they were. As soon as that, a burly and fat woman, started walking along the row, eyeing each and every person up and down, stomach wagging madly with every step she took. You didn't mean to be rude or judge, but here she was, fat as a pumpkin while Roxanne looked starved to death. One would naturally think that this place had no sense of equality. And people actually praised the King while his own palace staff had superiors bullying the ones with the lower status. How decadent.

Pulling yourself out of your thoughts, you saw that the fat looking maid make her way towards you, eyeing your body like you were a sort of centipede. You didn't even bother to look at her, but you knew now that she was a chef here. You weren't sure whether she knew how to cook food, but you knew that she surely knew how to eat it.

"YOU!!" she snapped, voice as heavy as a rock. Apparently, she was referring to you. You didn't want to go, but you had to. And, is that a way to talk to someone you just met? One thing you had learnt about the people living in the palace is that they had absolutely no common courtesy or decency.

"Yes, ma'am?" you replied politely, looking up at her with a smile.

"What's your name?" she drawled, waving the spatula she had in her right hand at you. 

"I'm [F.n], ma'am." 

"Are you new here?"

"Very much so, ma'am."

"Were _you_ the one who was walking with Carsein-sama this morning."

Here we go again with these Carsein fangirls.

"I was, ma'am."

"HOW DARE YOU?!!" she screamed, running towards you (you were trying not to snort with how ridiculously she ran) and slapped you.

**_Slapped_** you.

Slapping the lady of a noble family would mean insulting the said family, which would have a high penalty if the person who slapped the lady was on a lower social ranking. However, this wasn't about your family, this was about you. You, [F.n], who had been humiliated and disrespected countless times since you arrived here. All of this was too much to handle. Noble or not, in debt or not, nobody had the right to hurt and shame you as they did. You were a person and not a ragdoll. You had the right of equality, then, why wouldn't anyone you met in your life treat you as a person? It was sickening and frustrating, even more so when you had to chew it down and suck it up all the time. This time, your urge to slap her back overpowered all the previous urges you had, but following your mad emotions would only make you look like an idiot.

You raised your hand to your right cheek, which was stinging with sharp pain. You said absolutely nothing, refusing degrade yourself to their level and speak to them. People who treated others like discriminately were the the worst, and no one knew that better than you.

This insult was something you couldn't stand, but, you wouldn't do any physical harm to her, rather, you would give all of them a piece of your mind, "With all due respect, ma'am, I was only walking with Carsein-sama because he was showing me around, as I am new to the palace. Besides, **I do wonder why all the cows would get jealous of a pegasus, wouldn't you?** "

Everyone visibly gasped and you savoured every second you got to see that ugly face if hers twist into that of horror and anger at the same time. However, before you could give a wide smirk like smile or she could be disrespected even further, she dismissed all of the maids to get to their afternoon chores and left you in Francine's care. However, you knew that with an ego like hers, she would definitely try to get you back for it tenfold, but, hey, who's to say that you weren't prepared?

A pair of shining emerald eyes disappeared from the doorframe, having seen enough.

* * *

"...The girl easily dealt with the maid who threw a cleaning cloth at her face without using her fist. She really didn't physically retort no matter how much I insulted her. Furthermore, she saved a maid from three bullies, and by heavens, she really has a silver tongue. Lastly, she shamed all the maids who had bullied her this morning when she was with me and the head chef with real grace and politeness, if I say. She really does know how to handle the worst of situations without failing or punching."

The man looked up from the papers at which he was staring with the most keen gaze as he was listening to his assistant report on what the latest addition to their staff had been up to. Why was he getting a report of what she had been up to? Simple, it was because he was curious. Curious as to why someone, who had been neglected and even abused by their stepmother, lower her status and become from a noble to a mere maid. Her family didn't have any power or influence and was in tremendous, and letting herself become a maid would only further prove the said point. Why did she do that?

He was smart enough to know that she didn't do it out of the kindness of her heart... or was it that? He didn't know that lady well enough. Now, after hearing about what had been happening with and to her, he was mildly astonished. She was definitely something else. She let herself be thrown cleaning clothes at and be slapped by maids? She could easily sue them, as her family, powerless and unimportant as it was, definitely wasn't useless enough to let their only daughter be mistreated by commoners. She was a noble and they were peasants, she could have them killed for they had done, and she didn't need anyone form her family to do that for her. Speaking of which, where was her father? Shouldn't he do something about it? Shouldn't he rebel at how his daughter was being treated? Where was he? He certainly wasn't dead.. What about her brother? He was of age and could certainly pull his sister out of this, why didn't he? 

If her family didn't interfere in this case, it meant that they had little to no care for her. Just what had that child gone through? 

He chuckled, never had he ever gotten so curious, never had he ever the urge to know more about someone out of personal interest. What was so special about the [L.n] girl? Maybe her skills? Maybe her independence? Maybe her resilience? Maybe the stupid choices she made? Maybe her patience? Maybe... her [e.c] eyes that dared to meet his for the briefest second, when no one else in Ivaexoniel or the world did? Maybe the mysterious and calm aura around her? Maybe... all of the above?

He didn't know what, but, he did know one thing.

" **[F.n] [L.n], at first you had my curiosity, but now, you fully have my attention and interest.** "


	6. six- politics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kingdom
> 
> /ˈkɪŋdəm/
> 
> the proud motherland stands tall  
> it's people full of joy, it's legends told in one and all.  
> it's heart of crystal and joy undone,  
> 'tis land of the morning sun.

"What's your opinion?" he asked, eyes turning to the side of the room where an unsuspecting you stood, eyes widening and head jerking up at the sudden call out. All the eyes in the room landed on you and you suddenly felt like a deer in the headlights, frozen.

Wait, how did we even get here?

* * *

_"Are you serious?" you heard one of the maids to another as you and Francine passed by them._

_"Yeah, I am!! There's going to be a big conference regarding it in a week!! I sure hope they manage to sort this out, my family lives near Neon borders, you know!!" the other whispered back and your frowned on what they were talking about. It wasn't just them, the whole palace had been extremely busy and uneasy as of late and you had no clue as to why. You had been here for two weeks now, and everything was normal up onto three days ago, but this sudden change jumped out of the blue._

_"Why is everyone in the palace so jittery today?" you asked to the brunette beside you, who looked up from her own dazed state and turned to you with a questioning hum._

_"Oh! Didn't you know?" she asked, leaning in to whisper in your ear. Turning a blind eye to how she was behaving, you leaned in and listened to what she had to say._

_"There is going to be a big meeting regarding the small war that has been going on in the east." she mumbled incoherently and your eyebrows furrowed a split second before your eyes widened in realisation as to what she was talking about._

_During the previous meeting, the Commander had told revealed to you all that the plan to vanquish the bordering countries forces which were trying to take a part of Ivaexoniel in the east had failed with huge casualties. Most of the people sent of the mission were dead and whoever survived was incredibly lucky. If the mission had succeeded, you wouldn't be here right now. If the section had successfully finished what they were set out to do, the kind wouldn't have to take such a matter into his own hands and the people wouldn't be in such distress._

_"There is?" you questioned and she nodded._

_"Yeah. You, of all people, should know. You're serving His Majesty directly, aren't you?" she asked and you shook your head dismissively as a response._

_"I am, but I haven't seen him once in my time here. Perhaps he's too busy?" you mused, clutching the firewood in your hand tighter._

_"Maybe, with Neon rising as a potential threat to the kingdom, his workload might have tripled..." she said thoughtfully as you both entered the kitchen._

_"Might be, but what do we have to do with all this political business?" you inquired and Francine gave an agitated sigh. She knew you were a beginner at being a maid, but your stupidity was beginning to exceed the exceeding limits of her expectations._

_"[Name], you're really clueless, aren't you? His Highness is our master, and it is ourduty to ensure that the palace is prim, pristine and to the point of perfection when the day of the conference arrives. We don't want to tarnish his reputation, not after how kind he is." she said, tossing a couple logs from your hands into the blazing embers before you._

_"Ah, but of course..." you sighed, growing tired of how many women and men respected and swooned over the king and his twat of an assistant. Were you the only person in the entire kingdom who **didn't** see them as the paragons of peace? You were really considering that question now._

_"You're going to be at the meeting, so remember to tell me what they decided, okay?" she said and you did a double-take at that. You opened your mouth to ask her on what she meant, then immediately shut it when you realised that as the King's personal servant, you would have to be beside him at all times to see to his needs. Life of the party._

_"Yeah, sure. If they ever come to a decision, that is." you said to yourself because you knew with what sort of personalities the governors of the kingdom's 14 states had, coming to a selfless and clear decision would be impossible._

_The day of the meeting arrived far too quick for your liking, as you had to sacrifice two hours of your precious, precious sleep to wake up early and see to the last bits of arrangements. Seeing whether there were precisely 14 glasses of wine on the table in the meeting room and checking whether there was any fog on the 5th seat of the table weren't really things you'd get up for, but you had to suck it up._

_The meeting commenced, and you finally got to saw the king in person for the second time. His presence, his mere existence was enough to make you feel nervous, and you were supposed to serve this person for who-knows-how-long. Something about him... something... was completely off. Even with the kind and graceful acts of his... he seemed... lonely._

_After him, came 14 men, and got, if you had to pick 100 of the most fat people you knew, it is certain that they would be 96 of them. It was like walking and talking beer barrels and swaggered into the room, and by how many rings each of them had, they were loaded beer barrels. You pitied the maids who had to serve them._

_"I hereby call this conference to order," the king started in his deep and rich voice, catching the attention of all the others in the room as they cleared their throats and quieted down, causing a rather uncomfortable silence to coat the room._ _Carsein, who was beside the Kind, pull out a rolled up piece of paper and began reading from it:_

_"In light of recent events, we have found out that our neighbouring country, the Neon Empire is planning to ambush Ivaexoniel. Taking action against this treacherous behaviour, His Majesty had sent... special knights to deal with the people illegally entering the country through the eastern borders. However, we were outnumbered and the survivors from the aforementioned mission claim that they had weapons much more advanced than ours and greater amount of men. This conference had been called up in order to find a legitimate solution to this predicament, a solution that would cause the people of our kingdom the least harm."_

_As Carsein finished, you bitterly imagined what the commander was going through. The rest of the people in the room were silent, until one of the governors slammed his hands against the table and stood up, his double chin wobbling as he spoke his next words._

_"Your Majesty!! This conference is absolutely outrageous!!" he exclaimed in a very fruity voice. The king didn't do anything about his outburst, rather, he just stared silently at him with his elbows propping up his intertwined hands from the table, "We should just declare a full fledged war on Neon! After years of trust, peace and friendship, this is how they treat us? This is how they thank us from preventing Olphensdale crushing all life on that doomed land?!"_

_The governors nodded and a chorus of 'Yes's and 'That's the best idea's rang through the room. You, meanwhile, started wondering who in the world gave any of these clotpoles the right to govern Ivaexoniel. If war was a solution, the king would never have wasted his breath on being in the same room as them, that was for sure. He clearly disliked all of them as you noticed him frowning in most slight of manners since they had entered the room and he wasn't bothering to talk to any of them, further proving your point._

_"We could use the Swessex Canal in the North-east to send our soldiers into their capital and take over it!" the man said, tracing a line down the map which was laid in the centre of the table, "They are clearly at a disadvantage there, since they have a small army, they can only deal with one task at a time. Since they're so busy with trying the infiltrate Ivaexoniel's borders, they won't see this one coming! We should slaughter every woman's child and every man's woman over there and take the capital under our control! They will have no choice but to surrender to us! We can even use this chance to increase the kingdom's rule!!"_

_Everyone in the room agreed with the man all too quickly and you started suspecting that they just wanted to get this over and done with. You, on the other hand, knew that this guy had no idea what he was talking about. Firstly, according to the International Military Billboard, Neon has two armies of 170,000 as of last year. Secondly, when you were on a mission last year, you had gotten intel that Neon had made an alliance with 3 countries in the South, and they could back Neon up at any time. Thirdly, even if his plan was to succeed, wouldn't killing every innocent person there be a LOT over the top? Why were they all even here?_

_While you were thinking this, you failed to notice a pair of jewel blue eyes on you, taking in your disapproving face. Then, he spoke._

_"What's your opinion?"_

* * *

That right there was your flashback and now, you had to do something. All the eyes in the room were on you and your breath hitched. Why was he asking the opinion of a maid? Why was he asking **you**?

"M-Me?" you asked, pointing at yourself just for confirmation and he nodded. 

If those men weren't aware that the king could be as ruthless as he was kind, they would have screamed at him for asking the opinions of a lowly, illiterate and uneducated peasant.

Inhaling deeply, and seeing that you had no choice, you fixed your posture and made your way from the wall to the centre of the grand room. Your eyes scanned the map of Ivaexoniel and it's bordering countries, searching for something that would put Neon at a loss for action. After a moment's search, your eyes twinkled as you spotted the dam between the two countries, which belonged to Ivaexoniel. Bingo.

"Here." you said, pointing at the damn, and the king's eyes followed your finger to the small icon "This dam, built in the 45th year of Gemini, served as bridge between the two countries and prevented the Lily Maid river from flooding Neon. If we were to break this dam, no harm would come to us or Neon, but, it would cut their one way of entrance into this country off and would flood all their farms and food resources, which they have left without security. Cutting off their access to food will likely be the best way to get Neon to surrender without causing too much harm, since they haven't actually harmed us in any sort of way. Killing all the people," your eyes met that of the bewildered man who suggesting massacring all people there, "would be outrageous and too harsh. If they don't have any food, the kingdom is likely to be short of resources and won't be able to feed it's enormous army 340,000," you again met the eyes of the man who said that they had a 'small' army before going back to the paper, "And it's people. They won't have any choice but to back down and reconsider ever trying to attack Ivaexoniel."

The silence that followed became unbearable, until the king spoke.

"Very well. We will follow this course of action. Meeting concluded."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A.N: Shat, guys, I didn't expect this fic to blow up. It's so ironic, on my quotev account, this story is going really slow, and Red Riding Hood's really making great progress, but over here, Red Riding Hood be takin' baby steps. Anyway, see you all in next update and I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!


	7. seven- never again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> she
> 
> /ʃiː/
> 
> her smile the pale moon, her eyes a painter's fantasy.  
> her hands of etiquette and archery, her brain an unconventional scheme.  
> her heart a broken glass, her pain an endless sea.  
> her voice a silver sword, her charm a fake eternity.

The news that a maid had resolved the issue that could prove as a threat to Ivaexoeniel's future spread like wildfire throughout the entire kingdom. Noble ladies gossiped about it during teatime or any other time, the words never becoming uninteresting for a great time. Well, looks like you were popular. 

Had it been another maid, she would have held her head high and she'd boast to anyone whom she could find about it. You, on the other hand, who had come here to keep a low profile and just do the mission you were assigned to until you were called back, were living through an absolute nightmare. 

Everyone whom you saw, every single person, except Francine, kept glaring at you either in your face or behind you from the corner of your eyes. The maids were thrice as more rude to you, and the head chef made satan look like an angel. Every time you tried to mop the floor, you'd only find out that they had put wine in bucket instead of soap. Every time you tried to have a decent cup of tea, you'd find that they had put salt in it. Every time you tried to got to sleep, you'd find that they had somehow managed to sneak into your room and stuff your pillow with soil. In other words, you were having the _time of your life._

For someone whose job was more dangerous than anything, you sure were a clueless airhead. Thus, you walked right into their pranks every single time flawlessly, royally and ceremoniously. It didn't help that the three maids whom you buttered up like a professional always tried to seek you out for some apparent reason of which you were not aware. Thus, it was even more awesome.

The weird thing about it was why the heck did the King ask you, **_you_** of all the people in the room, you, to solve a serious political matter. Was he testing you? Was he aware of why you were actually here? You could never tell with his monotone expression, you could never read him, despite the number of times and the number of hours you had spent hot on his heels ever since the meeting. It had been a month, and you found yourself wondering on what lies beyond that calm and passive face of his. 

You gasped as you realised what you were thinking, and slapped both of your cheeks. NO. You had absolutely ZERO time to fawn over who he was, you just needed to complete what had been asked of you and get out of this place before you saw and knew too much for your own liking. It was none of your business who he personally was or what he did, you just had to stay focused on your goal. That's right. Focus on your goal.

You picked up the tea tray on the counter, which was meant for His Majesty, and left the kitchen, eager to get away from all the whispers and pointing fingers from men and women alike. As you walked down the hallways, paying not the slightest attention to the echo of your footsteps, you heard voices that overruled the sounds of your feet against the marble floor. You jumped out from your pool of thought, halted in your steps and frowned.

"...such a witch." a female voice which you recognized said.

"I know, right?" 

Oh, boy. Here we go again with people gossiping about you. Witch had become the... let's see now... 34th nickname you had been called ever since your arrival here. Seriously, keeping count of peoples' amusing antics was the only kick you could get out of their insults and nothing else. No friggin' use killing brain cells on people without any.

Ignoring their usual gossip, you kept walking until you reached the King's office, finding the usual two guards standing there in solemn positions. Upon seeing you, one of them opened the door and you bowed slightly as a token of gratitude before stepping in and hearing the door shut behind you. The office was as neat and as pristine as could be, with a huge window from behind the cherry wood desk and chair, along with two huge shelves of books on the right and left walls. Directly in front of you, were two sofas, like any other you'd find in a noble household, along with a table of the darkest brown in the middle. Not what you were expecting for THE King's office, but got used to.

"My greetings to Sun of the Kingdom," you said, setting the teatray in your hands on the table and curtsying in front of the said man. He was sitting on his desk, and fortunately, his jerkwad of an assistant was not around. Being in the presence of that annoying talk-like-no-tomorrow moron was an annoyance within itself, and no one knew that better than you.

He didn't show any signs of acknowledging you, and merely continued to do his paperwork. You set the tea on the table and bowed once more, although, by now, it was only out of habit. He didn't acknowledge your existence once since that crazy decision he made to ask you a question affecting the entire country in the future. That just made you want to know what the heck was this dude's issue. 

You stood in the corner of the room for a good 15 minutes, hands neatly folded in front of you and your head down as you let your head float off once more. It was a lame and pathetic day, and you could really do with some action. Bet Charlise was screaming on how grateful she was that your group had to go off and work without you. 

After a while, another maid came into the room, but you took no notice...

...Until her blood curdling scream rang through your ears, followed by the shattering of the glass window behind the king. Your eyes widened and you jerked your head up, gasping and instinctively putting your guard up at what you saw.

There were three men in clad black inside the room, their faces masked with the darkest cloth. In their hands were sharp swords which gleamed under the rays of the afternoon sun that poured in through the now broken window. The king, to your great astonishment, was already in front of you and the other maid. The look on his face was not like that of the other maid's, that of pure shock and terror. Neither was it like yours, one of astonishment and wonder on what had happened to the guards outside. It was monotone. Indifferent. Unaffected. As though the situation was nothing. He was looking at them with the least amount of interest, as _bored._

"Think you could keep us out, huh?" one of the sneered, twirling the blade in his hands. His voice was laced in sheer hatred and disgust. You could feel that malevolent smugness radiating off of him.

In this situation, you were at a huge risk. You didn't have your sword, and the King and the maid had no idea who you were, and if they found out, you would have to kiss the whole purpose of the mission goodbye. Panic slowly started building up in your chest, but you managed to suppress it with a hardened expression and a deep frown towards the goons.

Without another word, they charged towards the three of you. The King unsheated the sword that lay at his hip and and started duelling who seemed to be the leader of the group of unidentified usurpers. One of them headed towards you, and you made defense your major way of surviving, having crossed out offense out of the list of options ages ago.

Resentment bubbled up in your stomach as you saw the man trying to attack you come towards you slowly and languidly like a child assigned to do a chore. Each step he took forward, you took back. You were running out of options as your back would hit the door behind you soon and darted your eyes around you for anything that would allow you to capture him. The clanging of swords became a white noise in your head as you concentrated at the man in front of you. 

"Now, sweetheart," he crooned, "Play along willingly and it'll be easy for the both of us. I'm sorry, I'll have to kill you, can't exactly leave any witnesses. It's such a waste, you look like _such_ a treat~"

_"Don't be shy, dearie... so young and innocent... you look like such a treat~"_

_"No!! Let go!! I don't want this! Please! Leave me alone! Let me go!! HELP ME!!!"_

"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH ME, YOU BASTARD!!!" you screamed, eyes pooling with anger and fear at the same time as you pushed him away before he could get any closer. _Never_ again would you let something like what happened that day repeat in your entire lifetime. Never.

Luckily for you, the force and surprise caught him off guard and he stumbled hard enough into the wall to knock him out. Your breath immediately turned ragged as vicious tears flowed out of your eyes. You shuddered uncomfortably, eyes sliding out of focus as flashbacks of what had happened all those years ago flooded into your head. The thoughts you were trying so hard to bury, so hard to hide, so hard to not recall, so hard to not affect your present... overpowered you and your scared conscience as you felt your balance waver.

_"LET ME GO!! PLEASE!! PLEASE!!"_

_"Know your place, scum!!"_

_"Help me!!"_

_"Help me!!"_

_"Help me!!"_

"HELP ME!!" 

Another scream caught your ears and you whirled around, the crashing of metal against metal resounded through your ears once more. The other maid was desperately trying to keep the man in black away from her, failing desperately, she looked so frightened, so scared. So frozen heat of the moment, so vulnerable... just like you. 

Never again.

"NEVER AGAIN!!!" you shouted unconsciously, as you sped towards the other woman, her tears stained face brightening in the smallest of ways as she noticed you running from the other side of the room towards them. The man who was trying to assault her merely turned around, giving an irritated 'tch' as he saw you nearing. You lunged at him in the most vigorous and unplanned way, which was not like you, and desperately tried to claw the sword out of his hands. He, however, was much stronger than the previous one you had dealt with. He kicked you in your stomach, making you holler at the impact and cough madly, cough up blood madly.

Your head started feeling heavier and heavier, as you futilely tried to fight this man and buy the maid time to run. He attacked you back, kicking, punching, screaming. You wanted to hit him back, despite the consequences of which you were aware. You didn't care, you wanted to fight back, but, you were so scared that you couldn't. You had never been more afraid in your entire life.

'Something... unwanted and scary... something like that... it would be the worst feeling if it happened to you.' you thought, shaking uncontrollably as an excruciating pain shot through your abdomen, and blossoming in multiple areas of your body, of which you could keep track. It was numbing... it was scary.

Your body crashed onto the floor pathetically, and with the last running out vision in your eyes, you could see the blurry figure of the man approach the girl once more, and a pained scream became the last thing you heard. 

Limply, you tried to reach out a hand toward her fading figure.

You had failed.

You had failed.

You had failed to protect an innocent life...

...You failed to protect the maid...

...Just like you failed to protect that person.


	8. eight- regina

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the witch
> 
> /ðə,ðɪ,ðiː/ /wɪtʃ/
> 
> eyes of poison that pierce the heart.  
> tongue of serpent while allures the mind.  
> silk of lies and debauchery decorate her sash.  
> the dark which surrounds her is darker than black.

_"I will go."_

_"You can't!!! Who will-!??!"_

_" **I said, I'll go.** [Name], there is nothing you can do to stop me."_

_"NO!!! TAKE ME!!! TAKE ME WITH YOU!!! EDWARD, PLEASE!!!"_

_"The Trials of Espial are for mages only."_

_"NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! YOU WILL NOT GO!!! I DON'T WANNA BE ALONE!! EDWARD!! DON'T WALK AWAY!!! LISTEN TO ME, FOR THE SAKE OF VEREDITE!!! EDWARD!! COME BACK!!!"_

"COME BACK!!!" you screamed and jolted upwards, breathing heavily from the horrid nightmare you were just reliving. Cold sweat covered every inch of your face and your breathing was heavy and ragged. You put a hand over your left chest to calm down the roaring of your frantic heart. Nightmares happened quite often, it wasn't like you weren't accustomed to having them, but nightmare was different in ever sense of the word.

"Looks like you had quite the dream, didn't you?" a voice came from beside you. You flinched slightly before snapping your head to the right, finding none other than the king himself sitting in a chair beside your bed with a listless expression on his face. Your room suddenly felt ten times more extravagant with this man here.

"Your Majesty!!" you exclaimed, thoroughly surprised. Of all the people in the palace, why was he here? "Why--?! Whatever gives me the honor of your presence?"

"I was just checking up on you. You had quite the fight back there, after all." he said. Although the words were supposed to sound warm and encouraging, they sounded as cold as frozen iron. Words said in such indifference that your eyes widened the ,moment they hit your ears. He didn't actually care, he just came here for the sake of courtesy. So much for that.

"My dearest gratitude and honor that His Majesty himself came to check upon a lowly maid such as myself. Furthermore, my humblest and deepest apologies that you had to see me in such an unruly state--"

"It wasn't a bother and you are well now. Best you get to work." he cut you off before striding royally out of the room.

What was this guy's _issue_? He didn't even bother explaining what had happened back there!! He didn't even ask whether you were feeling okay!! What was even the point of coming here if all he was going to was behave like a jerkwad?!

Scoffing at the questions in your head, you decided that it wasn't worth asking him about it and inquiring Francine about it later would be better. She might look all that innocent, but she was always updated on the happenings in the castle somehow. Nodding at your decision to no one in specific, you got out of your bed, realizing that you were wearing the same black dress but your apron wasn't on you. It was really bothering and hot to sleep in such a dress, you were bound to catch a cold later by how sweaty you were.

You pulled out the spare uniform that had been provided from the trunk behind your bed along with a bathrobe before exiting your room and heading to the servants' washrooms. You scrubbed yourself neat, even with the cold water. Showers were usually taken in the early morning, so fire crystals would only be kept active during the early hours. Means the water was as cold as frick right now. You just so happened to be the unfortunate person upon whom the wrath of the icy coldness would be rained down upon on this already glorious day. Fantastic.

You hurried the entire process up and we are NOT going to talk about it. End of discussion. Just thinking about it sent chills down your spine, and you prayed that you'd never had to undergo such cruelty again. Directing your mind away from the thought like the plague, you pulled on your spare uniform and left the one you had been wearing previously in the laundry room while you were on your way to the kitchen to report your duties.

Before you opened the door, you were expecting the same looks of disgust and putrid jealousy, mean comments and actions of pure disdain. Basically, you expected _anything_. Anything but what actually happened.

As soon as you opened the door, something-- no, scratch that-- someone crash into you. The impact of the force knocked all the air out of your lungs and a slight a screech left your throat. Okay, had their hatred for you become a physical thing now?

The thought perished, however, when you heard and felt muffled sobs vibrate against your chest. Your brows knitted and upon looking down, you saw the familiar brown head belonging to Francine. 

"Francine? What even is the matter?! Why are you crying?!?" you yelped, grabbing her by the shoulders and pulling her away from your chest. Her face was soaking wet with tears and you _presumed_ that she was trying to explain her current state to you from the messy stroke of words leaving her mouth in various broken syllables and huge sobs.

"[N-N-N-N-Name]!!! I-I-I thought-- YOU'RE OKAY!!" she wailed between her sniffles. Ever since you had befriended this girl, it felt like you had Lily on your back all over again. Both of them were the sort of people who would fret over whether you breathed in enough oxygen molecules or not.

You smiled while slightly shaking your head, as much as it was annoying to be babied 24/7, it was the only source of family-like warmth for you. You could never say that you hated it, "Francine, I'm okay. Stop crying, you look really messy right now!!"

She stopped her unnecessary wails and looked around. The kitchen was far too busy for anyone to notice you, maybe a distasteful glance here and there, but nothing too much. In fact, you'd have to say that the kitchen was far busier than any normal day, which probably meant that something big was about to happen. Not sure of what was up, you turned to Francine, who was busy fixing her face up.

"Why's everything so busy today?" you asked. In response, Francine did a double take at you, breaking out of her sobby stupor and giving you the same uninviting sigh she always did when you asked stupidly obvious questions.

"[Name], I'm glad you're all right and everything, but how unaware you are literally kills me. It's the Gathering of Reginas!!" she said incredulously and your mouth formed an 'O' shape in realisation.

The Gathering of Reginas happened once in unmarried king's reign in Ivaexoniel. Not only in Ivaexoniel, it happened everywhere, just was named differently. It was an event in which three women, one from a local aristocratic background, one from a foreign aristocratic background and one from a local commoner's background would assemble at the palace and spend time with the king. In other words, they were candidates to become queen. At the end of their 3 week stay, the king would announce whom he wished to be his bride and that's the short of the long.

"Ah, yes, _that._ So, which women are coming this year?" you mused with a raised brow. 

"It hasn't been disclosed to the public yet, but I think it will be soon. After all, the Opening Banquet is next Monday." Francine answered with a finger on her chin.

"OI! YOU TWO!! GET YOUR LAZY, GOSSIPING BACKSIDES HERE ALREADY!!" The voice of the head chef rang over your conversation, making you two jump and turn to her. Francine held her head down and apologized, while you thought that the that old bat should really rethink who had the actual 'lazy, gossiping backside.'

All the maids lined up as part of the daily routine, and as usual, you and Francine being shoved to the extreme end of it.

"Right," the Head Chef said, "I know you're all wondering about the attack that happened to His Majesty yesterday."

Whispers arose hushedly from the line and grew quickly, but the Head Chef's "SILENCE!" prevented them from escalating any further.

"It appears that some assassins were sent by Neon, because His Majesty figured out the solution to the brawl between the countries." she continued, "However, we aren't to show any weakness, we mustn't let this event shake us! We are the foundation of the White Rose and if the roots are weak, the tree won't stand!!" 

You would have appreciated her for saying something so motivational, but you were too busy seething internally at the fact that she said that "His Majesty figured out the solution to the brawl between the countries." It was you who had done the work and come up with a solution, and whilst all the country acknowledged that, the old witches you were surrounded by treated you worse than they did before, if that was even possible!! Your ego was seriously bruised by her snide comments, despite knowing that she was just doing it to provoke you. For how long would you have to deal with these pieces of _trash_?!?! Even Charlise, fricking Charlise, was BETTER than them!!

"Anyway, I have received word from Carsein-sama about which of you will be assigned which of the Reginas. I just hope... that we all get what we deserve." she carried on and your sharp eyes couldn't miss the sly smirk on her face.

She pulled out a list from her apron, which barely fit her beer barrel like frame, unrolled it and began reading. By the Gods, her next expression was something you'd want see every waking moment of your life, but your savouring smile immediately drowned when you heard her next words.

"[Name] [Last Name]... you are assigned to Lady Anisa of Ashquovicia."

Well, shit.


End file.
